Emily Ward is the author of Passages, Finding Fiona, and The Protectors series. One of her first stories featured a young girl whose doll came to life. The rest is history. She spent years writing mainly fanfiction (thank you, J.K. Rowling!), but has since ventured into originality. When it comes to fiction, she writes mainly young adult, contemporary, and fantasy. She also writes nonfiction, ranging from stories of her travels to thoughts on the Bible. Aside from writing, she loves reading, traveling, learning about God, sociology, religion, and Reeses sticks. Currently, she lives in Salem, Oregon with her husband Chris and their cats. Visit her website at http://emilyannward.com.

Interview with Emily Ward

Emily Ward is author of Promising Light and its three prequel novellas, Finding Fiona, and other novel(s), novella(s) and short story’s.

Holly: Hi, Emily! Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Emily Ward:Sure! My name's Emily, I'm married, and my husband and I have two great cats. Right now, we live in Oregon, where we met and got married, but I've lived in Hawaii and a few towns in Colorado, as well. I can't really sit still. I like new places, meeting new people, traveling. I'm a bit of a chameleon. I blame it on my parents, who moved a lot for their jobs with the Salvation Army. I can blame my mom for obsession for writing, too! I've been writing stories since I was very young, and she has been nothing but encouraging. I've written a little bit of everything through the years, and I'm definitely still developing, but right now I write mostly fantasy, scifi, and young adult. Here and there, I also do nonfiction and mainstream, but spec fiction and YA is what I really love. When I'm not writing, I'm working on my Bachelor's for Sociology and Linguistics or volunteering around town or doing graphic and web design. Or house work, but not very often.

Holly: Do you remember how you first started writing when you were young?

Emily Ward:Yes, I do! I'm not sure how old I was, but I'm pretty sure my first story (on my own, not for school or anything) was about a doll that came to life, and the little girl who owned the doll. I wrote it in one of those black and white composition notebooks and showed it to my mom and my brother. I'm sure they were nice and supportive, but oddly the only response I really remember is my brother telling me that when someone new started speaking, I had to start a new paragraph. My mom probably still has that notebook somewhere. I wrote a lot of stories after that, most of them inspired by movies I'd seen or books I'd read. Diamond thieves, twins with secret powers, things like that.

Holly: Can you tell us a little bit about the first novel in your Protector series, Promising light?

Emily Ward:Promising Light is a fantasy novel about Grace, a young noble. She's in a secret relationship with another noble, Dar, but he leaves her soon after a mysterious man warns Grace about him and his family. She's soon kidnapped by Dar's family, and her questions are answered when she realizes they're shape changers. She's pulled into a struggle between the shape changers and a group of nobleman who call themselves the Protectors. The shape changers think she can break a curse set on their family, but Grace isn't sure whether to trust them. She wants to help, but she'd have to leave behind everything she's ever known. Not the snappiest description, but that's what the blurb is for! ;)

Holly: Your fantasy novel, Promising Light actually has three prequel novellas. Can you tell us a little bit about them and how they connect to the novel?

Emily Ward:Yes, definitely. The first, Shifting Light, takes place ten years before Promising Light; Fire and Light varies from eight to five years; and the last one, The End of Light, is two years earlier. They mainly focus on the beginning of the curse that has made the shape changers (also called Avialies) unable to have children, and how the Avialies react to it, particularly a group of teenagers and young adults. It involves some minor characters in Promising Light, such as Sashe, as well as major characters, such as Dar and Sierra. Shifting Light and Fire and Light are more YA Romance, but The End of Light has some very big events that affect the way things in Promising Light happen. I'm hoping that people who enjoy Promising Light will be able to learn a bit more about the characters through the novellas. But people who haven't read Promising Light would enjoy them, too, and will hopefully want to read on to see what happens!

Holly: Can you read Promising Light with out reading the novellas or would you recommend the novellas first to readers?

Emily Ward:No, you can read Promising Light first. In fact, if you read it first, you figure everything out about the shape changers and the Protectors at the same pace as Grace, the main character. If you read the novellas first, you'd know what Grace was looking for. At the same time, if you read Promising Light first, you'll know the outcome of some of the big conflicts in the novellas. I think it will be mostly up to personal preference. But I do recommend that the novellas are read in order, whether you're reading them before or after Promising Light.

Holly: You have another novel called Finding Fiona. Can you tell us a little bit about this novel and your inspiration for it?

Emily Ward:Yes, Finding Fiona YA scifi. It might be more of a novella at 45K words or 175 pages, but some people consider it too long for a novella. Anyways, Fiona loses her memory after a brutal attack. She has bits and pieces of her memory, but not enough to know what happened to her. Four months pass before she meets someone who claims to be from her past, then she finds out that the world actually thinks she's dead. This launches her journey to figure out what happened and how she escaped the men who killed her parents. The very basic ingredients actually came from a prompt: girl loses memory, someone finds her and says he's lucky he found her first because others are looking for her. And I took it and ran with it. I had to figure out what had happened to her and what she would do with that information. It was really fun to write.

Holly: Can we expect more works from you this year; are you perhaps in the works of anything at the moment?

Emily Ward:Yes, you should see Promising Light's sequel by the end of the year. I don't want to make any promises about when, but I'm about halfway through it right now and I hope it'll be up in the summer. Depending on how this book ends, there could be a third book in the series.

I'm also working on a fantasy novel called The Illusionist. Here's a rough blurb: Elliana has a secret. She can trick people's senses: make them see someone who's not there, taste food that doesn't exist, even feel things that are only in her head. She's determined to keep this secret and tries to live a normal life. Well, except for trying to dethrone an unjust king. She and the rest of the Council are trying to place someone new on the throne through the tournament that crowns the king every seven years, but they have to work through years of the king's blackmail, flattery, extortion, and bribes. When she realizes her powers could help them win, she has to choose who to help: the boy who's like her brother or the boy she's fallen in love with.

It's a very similar genre to Promising Light: fantasy romance that has a good/evil struggle but isn't on a "save the world" level. I've put it on hold for a bit for The Protectors series, but I've had a lot of fun with it so far and can't wait to finish it.

Holly: You have three collection novels, which I assume is the same as an anthology, short stories that have a common theme all by you? Did you set out to write the collections or did they just come together on there own?

Emily Ward:Passages and Beyond Home have stories and each are written by me. Love, Me (which should be released just a day after this interview posts!) is actually an anthology, so there are six other authors who have stories in the collection, too! As for my collections, they just came together on their own. Passages is seven different young adult stories I wrote, and I realized they'd make a good collection because they deal with similar subjects: romance, family, friends. Each one is pretty short, too, hardly over 3000 words. Beyond Home has three longer stories that deal mostly with people in their 20s (I think it's called "new adult"?). Each of the stories have travel involved: sisters going to the Grand Canyon after their dad dies; a woman reminiscing about a road trip she took with an ex; and a man going on a spontaneous trip to Hawaii with a runaway bride. It's funny how some themes reappear in my writing.

Emily Ward has offered to giveaway two (2) eBook copies of Promising Light (The Protectors, #1)!

"Grace began a secret courtship with Dar for the thrill of doing something against her father, the king’s general. She hadn’t planned on falling in love with him. When Dar suddenly leaves her, she searches for answers, reluctant to let him go.

Everyone seems determined to keep the truth from her—until she’s kidnapped by Dar’s family. They’re shape changers who claim she can break a curse set on them ten years ago by the Protectors, a group of noblemen determined to stifle magic in the name of safety.

Torn between two worlds, Grace isn’t sure who to trust. If the curse endures, Dar’s family could die out forever. But to help them, she’ll have to leave behind everything she knows."

All you have to do to enter for a chance to win is fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

**Just sign in via Facebook or with your name and email, and click 'DO IT!' --Green Button-- read the instructions/directions of the entry well please, complete it and then click 'Enter'.

Jasmin Palo, an avid reader and writer, is currently earning her doctoral degree in Molecular Biology at the University of Nevada Reno. She used her decade of expertise in the field of medical research to write the thrilling medical mystery 'Heart Attack'.

Interview with Jasmin Palo

Jasmin Palo is author of the novel Heart Attack.

Holly: From what I understand besides writing you are also earning your doctoral degree in Molecular Biology?

Jasmin Palo:Yes I am earning a PhD in molecular biology. This is where I got some of the plot for Heart Attack that involves some aspects of biotechnology.

Holly: Can you tell us a little about your novel, Heart Attack?

Jasmin Palo:Heart Attack is a cozy medical mystery novel that involves a pharmaceutical company called Witham. P.I Nathan Stone together with homicide detective Nicole Trent begin to investigate a homicide. They soon find out that people connected to Witham who have mysteriously died of heart failure may have been poisoned. I used my expertise in cloning and microbiology to write this book, letting my imagination do the rest.

Holly: Do you have any plans for another book or book(s) in 2012?

Jasmin Palo:I am hoping to write another book after I graduate later this year. Just as Heart Attack it would be a medical thriller.

About the Author:The love of the written word is like a drug. A single thought can turn into miles across the ocean or a night in bed with someone you love. They are the very essence of my soul; I breathe them in everyday just to live. My heroes aren't the people who are rich and famous. They are the ones who aren't afraid to tattoo my heart with the words they write. The shadows between the pages are the undiscovered worlds and minds of the person who writes them.

Interview with Joann H. Buchanan

Joann H. Buchanan is author of I Am Wolf Book 1 of Children of Nox and Best selling novella Soulless Light.

Holly: Hello, Joann! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Joann H. Buchanan: Well, I’m a mom, radio show host, writer, Media Director of For You PR and well as you can see I do a lot. I love what I do though. :)

First I’m the mom of 5 beautiful children. Two are grown up and that leaves my daughters Sarah and Carolyne and my son Trystan. I also have an awesome fiancé named John. He is the single person who pushes me to keep going when I feel like giving up. This business can be hard, but it is so worth it.

My radio show is called The Eclectic Artist Cave and can be found on The Shark Radio Network and ZTalk Radio. It airs M-F at 11 AM EST. The show itself centers around the art of writing. I play music and have guests on that talk about their work and the art of writing. Every other Tuesday I have Jack Remick on and he talks about different writing techniques and styles. His teachings have made me grow as a writer. On Wednesday I do Writer Wed. I give a theme and people can send in a piece of flash fiction to be read on the air. The responses I get from this one are amazing. The talent blows my mind and I’m generally moved by the fact that I get to call these people friends.

I’m part owner of a PR company called For You PR. It’s a lot of fun and my partner Audrey Hamilton and I have tons of work to do on a daily basis.

Holly: Do you remember how and when you first began writing?

Joann H. Buchanan: When I was a kid, my parents would ground me, the only thing I was able to do was read or write. I would run out of books to read so I would write. I’m sure my parents did expect me to form a love of writing. I remember a few times I would upset them just so they would send me to my room so I could write without interruption. I was a closet writer from that time on.

Holly: Your first published work was, Soulless Light—can you tell us a little bit about this?

Joann H. Buchanan: A young love destroyed, an entire village murdered. The year, 1363-the plagued ravaged the land in every corner of Great Britain accept one lonely isle called The Isle of Ely. The bishop, sure the village had consorted with the devil sent his Templar Knights to investigate. Their hearts thirsted for blood. They killed every living person in the village. Julia's soul, so angered by the actions of the knights, is given a power in death she did not posses in life. She must decide if revenge is worth the price she will pay.

Holly: What was your inspiration for this novel?

Joann H. Buchanan: I watched a “B” movie about the Templar Knights and the atrocities they did. I thought too bad someone couldn’t give them a taste of their own medicine. That was the very beginning of the thought process. Then Masters of Horror was going to put together an anthology based on the theme, “undead” and the story fit. Unfortunately the book didn’t receive enough entries so it was squashed. Still I had this story I loved. It was the first time I had written in first person and I loved the way it turned out. So I decided to do something with it. I was going to try to self-pub it. I came upon World Castle Publishing and they took novellas. So I sent it in. I will never forget receiving the acceptance letter from them. :)

Holly: Can you tell us a little bit about your novel, I Am Wolf?

Joann H. Buchanan: I Am Wolf is book 1 in a series called Children of Nox.

Angel, hero, monster, devil--we all become what we really are. I Am Wolf --The journey of a boy about to become a man who inherits his ancestor's gift and must learn the right way to use it. He falls in love with Alaynee and begins to feel like he is normal again. When their world is shattered by the kidnapping of Alaynee's little brother, Jonah breaks the cardinal rule of his gift and bites the kidnapper, creating a creature called the unnatural. This sends him and all his friends on an adventure across the states to a place in Tennessee. There they find not only must they stop the unnatural creature, but they must save Cara--the girl the creature is after. Jonah must ask himself the most important question of all, would you sacrifice yourself to save another?

Holly: Which came first the plot or the characters?

Joann H. Buchanan: Neither, It was a single line I posted on FB.

I am part of Tibolt’s clan, a creature of the night. I wash myself in the shining sun and dance with joy in the glittering moonlight. I am loyal to a fault and sing in the midnight hours. I AM WOLF.From there, the story grew into what it is today. I just instantly got lost in the world I created. I didn’t even know if I had anything until I was finished. I have 3 other books that are finished that will never see the light of day. So when I read through it, I was like wow, ok maybe this is one others would like.

Holly: Can we expect any more works for you this year; are you perhaps working on anything at the moment?

Joann H. Buchanan: Yes, Book 2 in the Children of Nox series is almost finished and ready to send off to World Castle Publishing. It’s called The Kiss—“What if” a single kiss could trap a soul?

I’m also working on a fantasy romance called Dragon’s Eye.

The last think I’m working on is Heartbeat, the story of a baby who is half angel. The story is told in first person through the eyes of her mom. It is about the love affair she has with Samuel and the lengths they go through to ensure Irulan’s safety.

Holly: Where can we purchase I Am Wolf?

Joann H. Buchanan: It’s out on Amazon and free for Kindle Prime members.

Holly: Do you have anything you would like to say to your readers?

Joann H. Buchanan: I want to say thank you to all those who read my work. I’m blown away on a daily basis by those who send me messages in FB saying they loved my work, or that I inspired them to write.I want to thank you Holly for having me on your blog. It’s such a beautiful page. :)

Also you can find me on twitter under JoannHBuchanan. Drop me a line on FB anytime. :)

Holly: Do you have an author who may have inspired you to write? If so, who?

Joann H. Buchanan: I have several. Stephen King and David B. Coe are huge inspirations in my life. I love their style and the way they are unpredictable. Each one leaves me either breathless or just scares the crap out of me. The emotions they evoke are on different levels because one is horror and the other is fantasy. Also I love R. A. Salvatore and his poetry in motion. There are really just too many.

About the Author:Morrigan lives in a small town in the heart of Texas with her husband Robert and their daughter Brianna. She is also an ordained minister and is active in her community.When she is not busy working on a book,she enjoys spending time with friends and family and she loves to shop. Morrigan and her sister Misty also hope to one day open a coffeeshop.

Books by Morrigan Michele and Misty CarmonyBlood and Magick#1: Betrayed

Charlotte Blackwell author of The Embrace Series is delighted to have the opportunity to follow her dreams of writing. She would love to share a little bit about her self with you now.

Charlotte was born in October of 1976. On the day of her birth Charlotte's father was racing stock cars, while her two older sister's watched from the stands as their father crashed through the wall of the race track. Within moments the stock car he was driving came back through the wall, and he won the race. He took his two daughters and hurried to the hospital for the birth of his third daughter, Charlotte.

Raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Charlotte enjoyed swimming, singing (although not so great at it) and writing her thoughts down. She never shared her passion for writing with anyone, and it got...Read full bio here.

Interview with Charlotte Blackwell

Charlotte Blackwell is author of the Embrace series.

Holly: Hi Charlotte! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Charlotte Blackwell:I’m a mother two three amazing children. For the past six years, I’ve been a stay at home mom to them. Now my youngest has started school and my oldest (who is homeschooled) enters High school next year, Wow that makes me feel old (haha). I love life, family and friends and am so glad to share little bits of that with others now.

Holly: Do you remember how and when you first began writing?

Charlotte Blackwell:It really wasn’t that long ago when I began write professionally. I started writing Immortal Embrace in November/December 2009. In the spring of 2010 I began writing various articles and became a contributor for Yahoo and other sites. I even began getting paid. It was great. Before that any writing I did was just letters and notes for myself to express my feelings. As a kid I tried writing songs, but sucked!

Holly: Can you tell us a little about the first novel in the Embrace series, Immortal Embrace?

Charlotte Blackwell:Immortal Embrace is where it all starts and the reader gets to know the characters. It builds the setting for the rest of the series. There’s a few exciting parts and a lot of relationship building. Readers of Twilight will really enjoy this book and relate to it.

Holly: What was your original inspiration for this novel?

Charlotte Blackwell:My children are the inspiration for it. Sophia the lead character is based of both myself and my eldest daughter. Sophia is fairly insecure and soon learns to come out of her shell and believe in herself more and more. I hope to get the message to my daughter and others like her that it’s okay to allow others in. Sometimes it’s difficult making new friends, but if you don’t give others a chance to like you for who you are, you could miss out on some really amazing friends.

Holly: Did it start off as the idea for a series or just the first novel Immortal Embrace?

Charlotte Blackwell:I always wanted it to be a series. Although I was never sure if I could pull it off. Immortal Embrace originally had about a quarter of Forbidden Embrace in it as well. I later decided to split it up and separate the story a little more. Each book continues where the last one left off, but have their own separate identity and plot.

Holly: Forbidden Embrace again follows Sophia Pierce and her story can you tell us a bit about this novel?

Charlotte Blackwell:As I said the first book we get to know the characters, but in book 2 a lot more happens. There’s action and romance and we really see Sophia’s relationship forge strong connections. We even learn why some of the characters are they way they are.

Holly: In the newest novel Mystic Embrace we follow Ebony Triggs. Can you tell a little about this novel and why the series has suddenly switched to a different character focus?

Charlotte Blackwell:Mystic Embrace is my favorite of the three so far. I decided to switch POV’s because Ebony really had a story that needed to be told. It still follows the rest of the series and characters, but we learn a lot more about Sophia’s best friend. She has had a hard life, and things don’t get any easier for her. So much happens in this book, and I was even surprised at some of the developments of it. It was fun writing Ebony’s story, but book four does return to Sophia’s POV.

Holly: Was the change of focus to Ebony planned or did it play out on its own?

Charlotte Blackwell:I actually wrote Mystic Embrace before I finished Forbidden Embrace. I knew Ebony would have a lot happening and it wouldn`t be fair to her if Sophia told it.

Holly: Do you plan a fourth book in this series?

Charlotte Blackwell:As I mentioned book four returns to Sophia`s POV, it is almost complete and called Everlasting Embrace. In this book we meet even more characters and even see another story play out.

Holly: Do you think you will move into other genre(s) writing wise in the future?

Charlotte Blackwell:I do have a contemporary romance for adults in the works, but had to put it to the side. I have some really amazing fans that want more of the Embrace Series. I`ve been averaging a new book in the series every few months. It`s been hard and rewarding at the same time. Once book four is done, I plan to finish my romance before returning to the Embrace Series. I also have some plans for amazing sci-fi books. I hope to begin work on soon too.

Holly: Are you perhaps working on anything at the moment?

Charlotte Blackwell:For the time being it is Everlasting Embrace, but will return to the others when I take a little break.

Holly: Do you have anything you would like to say to your readers?

Charlotte Blackwell:I love my readers. They are so supportive and understanding, I wouldn`t still be writing if it wasn`t for them. So thank you.

Holly: Can you tell us about some of the items in your shop, Embraced With Love?

Charlotte Blackwell:Everyone loves to have the chance to get merchandise related to the books or films they love. I created a very simple shop that includes my tag lines, covers and even the Magnificent Ones, triquetra from the book of shadows. I thought it would be fun to have anything you wanted. I was able to set the prices and decided I didn`t want a huge mark-up. (some of the items are expensive enough). I didn`t open the shop to make money, I did it so fans could have Embrace merchandise. I`ve even ordered the teddy bear for a little girl I heard about, that was going in to surgery and needed a little something to cuddle.

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